The Flickcast

Three New Clips From ‘Chuck’ Season 3 Premiere

Posted on January 4, 2010

With every new year comes a few constants in the world of TV. There will be another Superbowl, there will be many more award shows, and yes: Chuck will be back. It was iffy for a while whether or not Chuck would actually make a return, a whole bunch of fans and an even bigger bunch of Subway sandwiches may have helped them back in May.

Now that the celebration of another season has calmed down, we’re now getting into the reality that the show makes it’s return to NBC with a special 2-hour season premiere next Sunday. With that in mind, we’ve got just the thing to get you excited for the show’s return: three brand-new clips from the premiere showing off Chuck and his new Intersect powers.

Last we left the team, Chuck (Zach Levi) became the vessel for his once-missing father’s (Scott Bakula) newest Intersect, which implants not only knowledge in the user’s brain, but vast depths of training as well. With that, it became the new mission of Agents Walker (Yvonne Strahovski) and Casey (Adam Baldwin) to protect Chuck once again.

Check out the three new clips after the jump. Be sure to catch the 2-hour season 3 premiere of Chuck on Sunday, January 10, at 9pm EST.

Box Office: ‘Avatar’ Surpasses A Billion

Posted on January 4, 2010

Well, it is the first box office recap of 2010, and it looks like I’ll be dropping the “B” word, as in “Billion.” Avatar sailed over the billion dollar mark in only its third week in release. Thanks to this worldwide total, it now sits comfortably at the number four position of highest grossing movies of all time, right behind Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest.

It has already exceeded the total that took The Dark Knight its entire theatrical run to achieve, and Avatar has shown no signs of slowing down. The movie dropped less than 10% from last weekend and made $68.3 Million, bringing its domestic total to over $352 Million.

There was plenty of box office love to go around this weekend, and several movies did exceptionally well. Sherlock Holmes added another $38.3 Million to its two week total, which now stands at over $140.7 Million. Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel made $36.6 Million, for an impressive two week cumulative of $157.3 Million.

The adult comedy It’s Complicated only dropped 15% from its Christmas weekend opening, and racked up $18.7 Million for a strong fourth place. Fifth place went to The Blind Side, which has been in the top ten for over seven weeks now. It actually increased its total 10% over last weekend, and has made over $209 Million now.

Mel Gibson Goes On ‘Summer Vacation’

Posted on January 4, 2010

Lately, there seems to be plenty of news in Hollywood surrounding two men: Mel Gibson or Leonardo DiCaprio. And in one case, both of them. But, this post is about Gibson and his newest acting role which will probably take him right up to the time before he gets started on his Viking project with DiCaprio.

How I Spent My Summer Vacation will star Mel as a career criminal who finally gets caught in Mexico. There, he’s sent to a prison and learns to survive with the help of a 9 year old boy. The movie is based off of a script that Gibson wrote and will be directed by Adrian Grunberg, the 1st Assistant Director of his most recent film Apocalypto.

The movie kind of sounds like Empire of the Sun meets The Shawshank Redemption, although I’m sure it’ll be far more gritty and violent than either of those movies combined. I wasn’t ever really that down on Mel Gibson after his arrest and breakdown (not that I condone his actions or things he’s said) but I’ve always enjoyed him as an entertainer and artist. So, it’s nice to see that he’s making a comeback.

Filming is set to start in March, in San Diego and Veracruz, and will be financed by Gibson’s own ICON Productions with Apocalypto‘s 2nd AD, Stacy Perskie, producing the film.

First Look At Matt Smith As The Next ‘Doctor Who’

Posted on January 4, 2010

With the ending of last year also came the end of an era for fans of the BBC sci-fi series Doctor Who. January 1st was the second half of the season 4 finale, in which David Tennant hung up his trenchcoat and sonic screwdriver to make way for the next actor to take on the titular role.

Though the end of the episode meant that Tennant and showrunner Russel T. Davies would be leaving, it also means that new writer Stephen Moffat and unknown actor Matt Smith will now be picking up the slack. The Tennant era started in 2006, while Davies was the brains behind the show’s relaunch back in 2005.

Now, with a new Doctor, comes all new adventures. Smith made his on-screen debut in the final moments of the finale, but this is the first time we’ll be seeing him in action (albeit in under 90 seconds). Check out the first preview of Doctor Who season 5 after the jump. The new season hits the BBC and BBC America this Spring.

‘Ghostbusters 3’ To Shoot This Summer

Posted on January 1, 2010

Ghostbusters is one of those films that’s simply timeless. Sure, the special effects are a little iffy these days but the story and comedic beats are still perfect. On the other hand Ghostbusters 2 didn’t quite hit the mark for most people. That being the case, it’s hard to decide which way a third film may fall. Would it live up to the original or become a parody of itself like the sequel?

It’s hard to imagine anything being as good as the original. However, I think some sort of transition film, in which a younger Ghostbuster team takes the place of the originals, could work. Original Ghostbuster Harold Ramis thinks so too:

“Something’s going to happen. Dan [Aykroyd] did write a spec GB3 screenplay a few years ago, but no one was motivated to pursue it. Now, 25 years after the original, there seems to be some willingness to proceed and apparently a substantial public appetite for a sequel. We’ll introduce some new young Ghostbusters, and all the old guys will be in it, too. Think Christopher Lloyd in Back to the Future … GB3 is progressing with plans to shoot next summer and release in 2011. . . “

So there you have it, right from Egon’s mouth. Ghostbusters 3 is on track to production and will probably set up a new franchise. The original spec script by Dan Aykroyd Ramis referred to was Ghostbusters Go To Hell which probably wouldn’t work to well. As such, co-executive producers Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky from The Office TV series have been tasked with writing a new script.

Hmm, Ghostbusters meets Dunder-Mifflin? Sounds crazy, but it may just work.

No Big Budget Films for ‘District 9’ Director

Posted on January 1, 2010

Avatar is getting a lot of fanfare at the moment. As it passes the $700 Million mark, people can’t help but wonder if it will go on to beat The Dark Knight’s billion dollar box office take. However, as huge as Avatar is, I still maintain there was a much better film about aliens this year, District 9 (which, incidentally made it onto Chris’ Best Films of 2009 list).

With only an estimated $30 Million budget, District 9 made over $200 million worldwide. Sure, that doesn’t hold a candle to Avatar’s current numbers, but keep in mind James Cameron’s epic cost well over $250 Million. Probably more when you factor in marketing expenses. Given that, District 9 could be considered just as successful.

One might think that with such success District 9 director Neill Blomkamp would be eager to take on a film the likes of Avatar. His stance is quite the opposite, however. Speaking with the L.A. Times, Blomkamp expressed little to no interest in high budget filmmaking, citing reluctance to bend to studio demands:

“That’s exactly right and that’s precisely the reason I don’t want to do high-budget films. I’ve said no already to doing the Hollywood movie thing with big budgets. And that is the exact reason.”

The “exact reason” Blomkamp is speaking of is the recent trend of studios emulating other films instead embracing original content:

“We seem to be in a place now where filmmakers make films based on other films because that’s where the stimuli and influence comes from…And that’s my goal, really, is not to draw from other films in terms of the overall inspiration and stimuli. You can in terms of design and tone and stuff, certainly, but not in terms of the idea and the genesis of that idea.”

Review: ‘Nine’

Posted on January 1, 2010

About thirty minutes into Rob Marshall’s musical Nine, I kept getting a nagging sense of déjà vu. It finally dawned on me that the movie reminded me a lot of All That Jazz, the 1979 musical directed by Bob Fosse. That movie starred the late Roy Scheider, who portrayed a brilliant choreographer experiencing an existential crisis in the days leading up to a big Broadway production. He copes with his pathos by popping pills and chasing women, and his self destructive ways ultimately cost him the love and respect of his daughter and those closest to him.

In Nine, Daniel Day Lewis plays a brilliant Italian director who experiences an existential crisis in the days leading up to the first day of filming for his new movie. He is a scoundrel, and has so many entanglements with various women that it ultimately threatens his health, marriage and relationships, not to mention the movie.

As soon as I got home, I started researching and found out that All That Jazz and Nine were both based on Federico Fellini’s 1963 film 8 1/2, which is widely considered a masterpiece in most film circles. While All That Jazz was Bob Fosse’s re-imagining of 8 1/2 with autobiographical components liberally interwoven, Nine is a more faithful adaptation of the story.

Chris Ullrich’s Best Films of 2009

Posted on December 31, 2009

2009 was a great year for films in general, particularly if you’re a fan of the sci-fi genre. The year also saw the return of a beloved franchise to the big screen as well as the latest film by one of our best modern directors. And even with the current condition of the country and the economy, audiences still managed to fill theaters and the movies enjoyed record breaking successes that hopefully will continue on into the new year.

Even with all the great movies in 2009, there were also some not so great ones. Sadly, there will always be some real bombs, but that’s to be expected. Fortunately, there were also quite a few standouts that helped keep us entertained, enthralled and excited about going to the movies in 2009.

As usual with lists of this type, I need to disclaim and say this is my list of what I felt were the best films of 2009. Nobody can see everything and opinions vary. Your list may be different.

Differing opinions and the freedom to express them are one of the things that make this country great. There’s always something new and different to see and do and we all get to choose what’s best for us. What movies we watch and enjoy is no exception.

That said, here then is my list, in no particular order, of the films I feel were the best of 2009.

Inglourious Basterds — 2009 saw the return of director Quentin Tarantino and the release of this amazing film. Some might consider it overlong or self-indulgent, but it showcases Tarantino’s filmmmaking skills at their finest and serves as an example of one filmmaker’s singular vision and immense storytelling craft.

This film provides the audience with something they never got from real life: closure. To finally see the Nazis, and in particular Hitler, get the ending they deserve is a testament to the power of this film and to its creator.

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